1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an advanced separation device for the treatment of fluid streams whereby one may accomplish, for example, ion exchange and/or other solid-fluid contacting operations. Also disclosed and claimed is a novel method for effecting continuous treatment of plural fluid streams as well as a variety of proposed commercial uses for the advanced separation device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A review of prior patent literature as well as a survey of presently available devices confirms that today's commercial ion exchange and similar devices, almost without exception, operate with fixed or pulsed beds. With fixed-bed systems, several devices are required to effect separation and to allow a reasonably continuous flow of the feed solutions. Thus, when a fixed bed of material is spent, that unit must be removed from the operating circuit and regenerated. This necessarily results in considerable downtime and usually requires complicated and expensive support systems. In similar fashion, while current pulsed bed systems are often referred to as being "continuous," they are in reality a hybrid batch system. In pulsed bed units, the flow of fluid is periodically stopped while resin or absorbent material is removed or pulsed from the system. The absorbent is then transferred to another section for washing, regeneration, and the like. While downtime of pulse bed systems is usually less than that of fixed bed systems, the mechanical aspects of their support systems are usually quite complicated and expensive.
Considering prior art as disclosed and taught in issued U.S. Patents, U.S. Pat. No. 3,396,850 to Kuvat, et al., discloses an apparatus for the separation and fractionation of material dissolved or suspended in a liquid. According to the disclosure of that patent, the suspension to be treated is admitted into an inlet chamber and then passed into a bundle of separation tubes as a series of suspension "plugs" separated by a gas. Both the inlet chamber and the bundle of tubes rotate, and separated fractions are collected by a stationary collector downstream of the tube bundle. Kuvat discloses no means for simultaneously treating plural streams; no means for any form of regeneration or purging any section of this device while continuing the separation process; and no means for passing material through this device in any direction other than from the inlet, through the bundle of tubes into the collector.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,508 to Capetanopoulos discloses a gas transfer system for dissolving a gas or other compressible fluid in a relatively non-compressible liquid. According to this patent a raw influent is admitted into a first chamber of a rotating member. As that member rotates, the raw influent is treated with a pressurized gas while a second quantity of raw influent is admitted into a second chamber of the rotating member. Then, with further rotation, the gas-treated influent is removed as effluent which has been treated. Continuous rotation of the three-chamber member permits substantially continuous treatment of raw influent by pressurized gas in predetermined batch quantities on a substantially continuous basis. Nevertheless, the Capetanopoulos system would not be suitable for ion exchange or solid-liquid contacting operations for the reason that fluid flow through the system is unidirectional and, if ion exchange separation were to be attempted with this system, regeneration would require stopping the flow of influent during the regeneration process.
Other prior patent literature which is believed to be pertinent to the scope of this invention concerns the art of self-cleaning filter elements. Such devices are deemed pertinent in that they disclose filter systems which can be cleaned, or backwashed, by reversing flow through isolated, predetermined filter segments. Examples of such devices are found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.
Olgard, 3,615,020 PA1 Moatti, 3,739,914 PA1 Moatti, 3,944,488 PA1 Peterson, 4,032,442 PA1 Kaminsky, et al., 4,085,051.
However, a review of these patents confirms that they relate to filter systems and processes, and would not be useful to effect continuous ion exchange and/or solid-liquid contacting operations as would the device of this invention.
It is, therefore, apparent that there is a great need in the art for a truly continuous separation device which may be utilized efficiently and economically in a variety of commercial and analytical processes. The construction and utilization of such an advanced separation device would permit all process functions, such as absorption, regeneration, and the like to be conducted simultaneously in various working sections without stopping the flow of fluid to be treated.